Some more first finds

[Mark Todd]

It's probably a good thing a lot of people aren't hooked on artifact hunting after their first find , after all if that was the case we'd all have a much harder time finding a place to hunt.
When I was in eighth grade my folks sold our farm and bought another on the Spoon River bluff in central Illinois. Just a 200 acre farm, but it was an artifact rich area ( multi-cultural component area) but the most pervasive culture was Archaic. There were several different notable camp sites on the property. I am one of four brothers, but the only one that took to artifact hunting. One of my brothers walked the fields with me a few times and found the nice Mason in the picture below, my mother went with me and found the excellent Thebes hafted scraper, and my father while driving the tractor glanced down and saw the next piece (a nice Archaic Stillwell) by the time he got the tractor stopped he'd already ran over it. He got off and picked it up out of the tire track, amazingly it was still in one piece.

 

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[mainejman]

I started hunting artifacts in Illinois fields also.I got spoiled quickly field hunting.Since moving to Maine I've hunted one plowed field in about15 yrs.Those are fine artifacts Mark thanks for the look...mjm

 

[vpnavy]

Nice finds! Thanks for sharing...

 

[Americus]

Very nice artifacts. Thanks for sharing.

 

[rock]

Im liking that Thebes scraper but they all look good.

 

[Tejaas]

It's probably a good thing a lot of people aren't hooked on artifact hunting after their first find , after all if that was the case we'd all have a much harder time finding a place to hunt.
When I was in eighth grade my folks sold our farm and bought another on the Spoon River bluff in central Illinois. Just a 200 acre farm, but it was an artifact rich area ( multi-cultural component area) but the most pervasive culture was Archaic. There were several different notable camp sites on the property. I am one of four brothers, but the only one that took to artifact hunting. One of my brothers walked the fields with me a few times and found the nice Mason in the picture below, my mother went with me and found the excellent Thebes hafted scraper, and my father while driving the tractor glanced down and saw the next piece (a nice Archaic Stillwell) by the time he got the tractor stopped he'd already ran over it. He got off and picked it up out of the tire track, amazingly it was still in one piece.View attachment 1168876View attachment 1168877View attachment 1168878View attachment 1168879View attachment 1168880View attachment 1168881View attachment 1168882

I apologize for being late to the party, but i couldn't help but notice the ink traces on your artifacts.

Do you actively catalog your finds?


~Tejaas~

 

[Mark Todd]

Yes, at least for the first several years that I hunted. Your seeing my mother, my father, and one of my brothers initials on those artifacts along with a "site" number circled that corresponds with a platt map book that I have which I marked with the sites in order to know what was being found and where over a period of time. I started doing it at the suggestion of the local archeologist at the Dickson Mounds Museum near me.
At the time I thought it was a little silly, after all I believed that I would never forget what was found where. But now (40 years later) and a few hundred artifacts, I can't remember where I found some of them, even some of the nicest ones, in retrospect I wish I would have continued the practice (of course one doesn't need to use a dry marker), but it's too late now.

 

[Tejaas]

Yes, at least for the first several years that I hunted. Your seeing my mother, my father, and one of my brothers initials on those artifacts along with a "site" number circled that corresponds with a platt map book that I have which I marked with the sites in order to know what was being found and where over a period of time. I started doing it at the suggestion of the local archeologist at the Dickson Mounds Museum near me.
At the time I thought it was a little silly, after all I believed that I would never forget what was found where. But now (40 years later) and a few hundred artifacts, I can't remember where I found some of them, even some of the nicest ones, in retrospect I wish I would have continued the practice (of course one doesn't need to use a dry marker), but it's too late now.

Got ya, sir.

It is a good practice to follow for sure.
I wish the folks on TNET practiced it more than it seems they do.

~Tejaas~

 

[rock]

I dont mark mine I think it makes them look ugly. I have other means of tracking my finds.

 

[quito]

Top notch artifacts them are! Thanks for showing them.

 

[creekhunter]

Great finds, that is a rich area it looks like.